Lucknow: Over six years after it expelled Amar Singh, the Samajwadi Party today “unanimously” declared him as its candidate for the Rajya Sabha polls, setting the stage for his possible return to the party.

The party also nominated six others, including former Union minister Beni Prasad Verma, an influential Kurmi leader who recently quit Congress and returned to the Samajwadi Party, and realtor Sanjay Seth for the biennial polls scheduled next month.

When asked about when would Singh, a former confidante of Mulayam Singh Yadav, rejoin the party, Shivpal Singh Yadav, a UP Minister and brother of party supremo Mulayam Singh Yadav said,” It will be decided by Netaji (Mulayam) and Amar Singh. We have earlier also sent Congress leaders Pramod Tiwari and P L Punia to Rajya Sabha.”

Amar Singh along with his close associate Jaya Prada were expelled from the Samajwadi Party in February, 2010. He floated his own political party, Rashtriya Lok Manch, in 2011, and fielded a large number of candidates in 2012 assembly polls. However, none of his candidates won. He had joined the Rashtriya Lok Dal and contested the 2014 Lok Sabha poll from Fatehpur Sikri but lost.

Samajwadi Party denied there were “differences” over some candidates and claimed the decision on fielding them for the Rajya Sabha polls was “unanimous”.”The SP parliamentary board has unanimously decided seven names for Rajya Sabha. There were no differences and party supremo Mulayam Singh Yadav was authorised to take the final decision. The names were read out in the meeting,” Shivpal, also the party spokesman, told reporters.

The board has taken the decision after much thought and it will strengthen the party, he said, refuting reports of certain “objections” raised over some candidates at the meeting held today.

Seth is a controversial Lucknow-based builder, who was earlier recommended to be nominated an MLC by the ruling party but his name was not approved by Governor Ram Naik. The governor had also rejected the government’s proposal to nominate Rajvijay Singh and Kamlesh Pathak to the Legislative Council, contending that they did not qualify for it due to criminal cases pending against them.
Both Ranvijay Singh and Kamlesh Pathak figure in the list of eight candidates for the Legislative Council polls.

The Governor had clarified that under Article 171(5) of the Constitution, MLCs are to be nominated from five fields — literature, art, science, cooperative movement and social service, and these belonged to none of these category.

The support of 37 MLAs would be needed for a candidate’s victory the Rajya Sabha polls.

As per the existing strength of different parties in the 403-member state Assembly, Samajwadi Party with 227 MLAs would be able to get six nominees elected to the Rajya Sabha, the BSP two, and BJP one. Of the nine seats falling vacant, BSP has six and SP three.

Lucknow: Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister President Akhilesh Yadav has stripped Samajwadi Party leader Ompal Nehra of minister of state status after his remarks asking Muslims to help build temples in Ayodhya and Mathura.

The action by Chief Minister, who is also the state president of ruling Samajwadi Party, came as the Ram temple issue came into renewed focus with two truck loads of stones for construction of the temple being brought to Ayodhya by Vishva Hindu Parishad.

Nehra had on December 23 suggested during a function that Muslims should come forward and help build temples at disputed sites in Ayodhya and Mathura, so that organisations like VHP lose their identity.

“Where can a Ram temple be built if not in Ayodhya? It is an emotional issue. In Mathura, where we worship Krishna, how can there be a mosque there. Muslims should think about it and in fact come forward for Kar Seva (voluntary work) and say build the temples at these places. We should not fall in their (VHP’s)trap,” Nehra has said in Bijnore.

New Delhi: Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Akhilesh Yadav today suggested that an alliance with Congress is possible in an arrangement where Samajwadi Party supremo Mulayam Singh Yadav is the Prime Minister and Rahul Gandhi his Deputy.

Akhilesh made the comments in the course of a conversation at the Hindustan Times Leadership Summit here in the presence of the Congress vice president. However, Rahul refused to comment when asked to respond.

The UP Chief Minister was replying to a question on whether he was ready to extend his “good” personal relationship with Gandhi to a political level with the Congress.

“You are asking me because I am a Samajwadi (socialist) and you also say that I get rebuked by my father (Mulayam). I also want that Netaji’s dreams are fulfilled and that I work for him. He becomes the Prime Minister and he (pointing at Rahul) Deputy Prime Minister. I am in agreement with this and will make an alliance now,” if it is found acceptable, Akhilesh said, smiling.

He, however, sidestepped a question on whether an alliance with its rival BSP, like the one in Bihar where JD(U) and RJD came together, is possible in UP for the 2017 Assembly polls.

“Her (Mayawati) choice is that stone made elephant statues come up. So how is that possible? I have already told you my formula,” was Akhilesh’s response, referring to his conditions for a possible alliance with Congress.

Earlier, he categorically said, “there is no talk of any coalition at this point. It’s better if we don’t talk of it now.”

The 42-year-old chief minister of India’s most populous state asserted that any relationship with the BJP or any of its associate organisations was not possible “because of the kind of divisions they produce and the language they use.”

Lucknow: Taking the political slugfest over Dadri lynching incident to another level, Samajwadi Party leader Azam Khan, Monday, declared that he will approach the United Nations to seek justice.

Asserting that the Dadri incident is no less than the demolition of Babri Masjid in 1992, Khan said that the RSS and the BJP have declared that they will create ‘Hindu Rashtra’.

“If Hindustan becomes Hindu Rashtra then what will be the role of Muslims? If Muslims wanted to live in a country based on religion then the road to Pakistan was open for them in 1947 but they stayed back on assurance by Mahatma Gandhi and others.”

Muslims stayed back to be in a country governed by rules; if Muslims live here then what will be the status of them?, he added.

Khan said that he will raise the rising cases of communal violence in the UN. “Our approaching the UN is not going against India but we are appealing to the UN. I have sought audience with secretary general of the UN,” he said.

“There should be a round table conference on what will be the new map of India and how people will live in the country,” he said.

Khan also found a link between the Dadri incident and the upcoming assembly polls in Bihar. “Now the agenda of Bihar polls is not development, now it is being said that anyone who has beef meat in his stomach is to be killed.”

New Delhi: The Justice (retd) Vishnu Sahai commission set up by the Uttar Pradesh government to probe Muzaffarnagar riots has named several local Samajwadi Party and BJP leaders in the report.

It has also indicted some police officers, including the SHO of a local police station for failure to prevent the riots, reports Times of India.

Justice Vishnu Sahay, heading the commission submitted the report to the Governor yesterday.

The report will be sent to the state government for necessary action. The commission recorded the statements of more than 476 persons, including 100 officials in connection with the riots that broke out after an incident on August 27, 2013.

It was also asked to look into administrative lapses, if any, in controlling the violence in Muzaffarnagar and surrounding districts which left over 60 people dead and thousands displaced.

Lucknow: The Samajwadi Party today pulled out of the ‘grand alliance’ in poll-bound Bihar, saying it felt “humiliated” as it was not consulted while deciding seats and would contest the Assembly elections in the state on its own.

The SP’s decision ahead of the Bihar polls comes as a jolt to the grand alliance which was floated to counter the BJP in the state.

SP National General Secretary Ram Gopal Yadav told reporters here that “In Bihar the party will contest separately. The bigger parties in the alliance did not consult us while declaring seats due to which the SP felt humiliated. This is not the ‘gatbandhan dharma'”.

The final decision on the Bihar Assembly polls was taken at a party parliamentary board meeting here in presence of SP national President Mulayam Singh Yadav.

Yadav said that it was the duty of the major constituents to consult the SP before deciding over seat sharing.

“We came to know about this through the media. This is not the ‘gatbandhan dharma’ and SP felt humiliated,” he said.

Yadav said the party was not happy with the paltry two or five seats offered out of the 243 in the state assembly.

“We will win much more seats by contesting on our own as compared to that being offered by the alliance. We will contest respectfully,” he said.

On the future of ‘Janata Pariwar’, Yadav said at that time itself he had said that he would not sign the “death warrant” of the party.

“Respecting the sentiments of the party workers, SP has decided to go all alone in Bihar Assembly elections,” he said.

The JD-U and Lalu Prasad-led RJD have been alloted 100 seats each while the Congress got 40. The NCP was alloted three seats.

The SP spokesman said Janta Parivar could never come together, but he would not comment as to who was responsible for that.

If required, the SP would take support of some other parties in Bihar, he said.

“President of Bihar unit Ramchandra Yadav is in consultation with some other parties. Names of the candidates will be decided once the process of consultation is over,” he said.

Asked if cracks in Janta Parivar would boost the morale of communal forces, he said, “I wan’t to know from you whether there was division of secular votes in Madhya Pradesh, Rajasthan and Chattisgarh and BJP won.”

“Why would we have won the 2012 UP Assembly elections if victory and defeat was based on division. In Bihar there is a contest between secular forces. This is not the logic,” he said.

On being asked about his meeting with the Prime Minister and BJP chief Amit Shah and whether there was any discussion on the case of former Noida chief engineer Yadav Singh, he said, “Why should we have any fear in the Yadav Singh case. An inquiry should be conducted if any person has committed irregularity, and others should also be probed.

You as well as we all know who were the persons Yadav Singh was close to.”

Yadav Singh is accused of amassing illegal wealth.

“The manner in which hurdles are being created in the working of the state government. If such a situation will arise we finally met the President and now the PM. If required we will meet again,” he said.

Lucknow: Veteran Uttar Pradesh politician Mulayam Singh Yadav seems to be on roll in delivering sexist comments as he, once again, defended rapists in a statement made at a function on Tuesday. He sparked outrage when he said that rape cases are made out to be gang-rapes, but it is “not practical”.

“Often if one person commits rape, four people are named in the complaint. Four people are named for rape, can it be possible? It is not practical. They probably say one was watching…another was there… If there are four brothers, then all four are named,” said Yadav, the chief of Uttar Pradesh’s ruling Samajwadi Party.

Mulayam Singh also said the Uttar Pradesh government, headed by his son and Chief Minister Akhilesh Yadav, was criticized most even though it has the least number of rape cases compared to states like Madhra Pradesh, Rajasthan and Delhi.

The comments have been widely condemned.

The BJP’s Shazia Ilmi tweeted: “Subtle abetment to rape by Mulayam Singh Yadav. Has he never heard of gang rape?? Deplorable.”

Shobha Oza of the Congress said: “Earlier also he has given such statements. Today also he said that gang rape is not possible. These kinds of statements encourage the goons who do this.”

Last year in April, Yadav, 75, provoked outrage when he questioned the death sentence handed to three men convicted in gang-rape cases in Mumbai. “Should rape cases be punished with hanging? They are boys, they make mistakes,” he said while campaigning for the national election in Moradabad.

A month later, his party’s government faced condemnation after two cousins were found hanging from a tree in the Badaun district. The initial assessment of the police was that they were gang-raped and murdered, but it later turned out to be false.

Referring to that case, Mr Yadav said it was “blown out of proportion” but it turned out to be “cold-blooded murders for property.”

Gurgaon: Union Home Minister Rajnath Singh and Samajwadi Party chief Mulayam Singh Yadav have been admitted to a private hospital in Gurgaon owing to different ailments.

Rajnath Singh was brought at Medicity Medanta hospital around 9.15 a.m. on Saturday and was admitted to the ICU following a heart problem, IANS reported. The team of doctors treating him refused to say anything about his condition.

Sources told IANS that R.R. Kashvini and his team is taking care of the Home Minister. A.K. Dubey, medical superintendent of Medicity Medanta hospital, declined to comment on the Singh’s condition.

Meanwhile, PTI reported that Mulayam Singh Yadav was admitted to the same hospital late last night after he complained of uneasiness and breathing difficulty. The 75-year-old has been advised rest and there is no need to panic, Samajwadi Party Spokesman Rajendra Chaudhary said here today.

“Mulayam Singh Yadav is being examined in Medanta Hospital, Gurgaon under the supervision of Dr Naresh Trehan”, he said. “The party chief has been advised three days rest by the doctors and there is no need to panic with regard to his health”, Chaudhary said.

Party sources said Yadav complained of uneasiness and breathing difficulty last night after which he was taken to Gurgaon. Earlier this week, Yadav was admitted to the Sanjay Gandhi Post Graduate Institute of Medical Sciences (SGPGI) here and was discharged after an overnight stay in the hospital after some tests.

On the advise of doctors, Yadav had stayed back in Lucknow during the Holi celebration cancelling his programme to visit his native Saifai village in Etawah.

The leaders of the Samajwadi Janata Dal, a bloc of six parties, in Delhi on Monday. Photo: PTI

New Delhi: Leaders of the Janata Parivar raised the issue of black money both inside and outside parliament Monday, hitting out at the NDA government for failing to fulfil its promise of bringing back illegal cash stashed abroad. They also accused it of fomenting communal tensions.

Political heavyweights from the Janata Parivar, comprising the Samajwadi Party, the Rashtriya Janata Dal (RJD), the Indian National Lok Dal (INLD), the Janata Dal-United (JD-U) and the Janata Dal-Secular (JD-S) gathered in the Jantar Mantar area in the heart of the capital to address a rally denouncing the Narendra Modi-led National Democratic Alliance (NDA) government.

“Why has the NDA government failed to fulfil its promises made before the (Lok Sabha) election?” asked JD-U leader Nitish Kumar.

“Where is the black money it promised to bring back (from abroad)?”

“The prime minister has campaigned across the nation. He had said that he would bring back black money; what happened to the promises he made? They are spending money on religious conversions, they made false promises during poll campaign, and now they are diverting people’s attention,” said the former Bihar chief minister.

He accused Modi of not acting tough against right-wing Hindu groups charged with religious conversion of Christians and Muslims and said the country should not be divided on religious grounds.

Mulayam Singh said: “They promised jobs to all the youth and Rs.15 lakh to everyone (from the black money they would bring back). They even asked people to open bank accounts. But where is the money?”

“The BJP’s conspiracy is to engineer riots so that attention is shifted away from the government’s failures,” said the former Uttar Pradesh chief minister.

“The Agra incident was just a beginning. They will do such things across the country,” Mulayam Singh said, referring to the conversion of 300 Muslims families in his state.

Lalu Prasad alleged that Modi was attempting to cause religious divide in the country by tacitly encouraging religious conversions.

“The minorities have also fought for India’s independence and the Modi government engages in ‘ghar vapsi’ (home-coming),” he said.

JD-U chief Sharad Yadav said: “Janata Parivar is protesting at the venue (Jantar Mantar) against the government over black money. You promised good days, employment”.

The issue was raised again in both houses by members of these parties. In the Lok Sabha, they also staged a walkout over the issue. Members of the Samajwadi Party and the Trinamool Congress also held protests in the parliament premises.

In the lower house, Mulayam Singh accused the government and Prime Minister Modi of not fulfilling the promises made to people who voted him to power.

Members of the RJD and the JD-U also demanded a statement from the prime minister over the issue.

The SP chief said promises were made that farmers would get money in their accounts and that land encroached by China and Pakistan would be taken back. But “these promises have not been fulfilled”.

Both houses of parliament have debated the issue of black money during the winter session.